Mountain View Voice

Crime briefs

Robbed on a blind date

A 22-year-old San Jose man had a bad blind date in Mountain View on Tuesday, when a casual hook-up turned into a robbery and caused him lose his job.

"(It was) more than likely a set-up," according to Sgt. Sean Thompson of the Mountain View Police Department. The San Jose man was robbed at gun- and knife-point by two men who made off with an envelope containing $2,000 in cash — money the victim told police he was going to spread over the top of a bed before taking a roll through it with a woman he had arranged to meet over the Internet.

According to the police report, the victim was introduced to his would-be date online. They got to chatting and "she told him that it was her fantasy to have sex on top of money that was spread out on the bed," Thompson said.

The two arranged to meet at an apartment complex in the 600 block of Tyrella Avenue, Thompson said. The victim arrived at the complex around 12:20 a.m. on May 28. While standing on the sidewalk and waiting for his date to arrive, two men approached him from behind. They grabbed him, put a knife to his throat and jammed, what he believed to be a gun into his back, Thompson said.

The men asked him if he had any money, Thompson said. The victim said no. They searched him, found an envelope containing $2,000, took it and fled.

The man then called the police. He said that both his attackers were Hispanic, about 25 years old, about 5-feet-7-inches tall and weighing about 150 pounds.

There were no other witnesses, Thompson said. Police have attempted to call the number of the victim's "date," but no one has answered.

Adding insult to injury, the man has been fired from his job, according to Thompson, as he apparently "borrowed" the money — which was ultimately stolen — from his employer.

Armed man robs bank

A masked robber armed with a gun made off with an undisclosed amount of cash yesterday after robbing a Wells Fargo bank branch near the corner of Miramonte Avenue and Cuesta Drive in the Blossom Valley Shopping Center, according to police.

No one was hurt during the robbery.

According to police, the robber entered the bank at about 3 p.m. on May 22, brandished a dark colored handgun and demanded money.

A clerk handed the man an undisclosed amount of cash and he fled on foot, through the shopping center parking lot, said Sgt. Sean Thompson, public information officer with the Mountain View Police Department.

The shopping center was the site of a similar crime 11 days earlier. A man brandishing a gun robbed the China Cafe restaurant on May 11.

Thompson couldn't say whether the crimes are related. In the China Cafe robbery, the culprit was a man who stood about 5 feet 8 inches tall, according to the victim. That robber obscured his face with a hooded sweatshirt. The bank robber was said to be about 5 feet 10 inches tall and male.

Gas station fisticuffs

A knife was brandished and a car window smashed when two men got into a fight at a Mountain View gas station early Tuesday morning, according to police.

One of the men involved in the fight, a 53-year-old Palo Altan, was driving with his girlfriend when the two pulled into the Coast gas station, located at 101 E. El Camino Real, at about 1 a.m. on May 21, according to Sgt. Sean Thompson, spokesman for the Mountain View Police Department.

While the Palo Alto man was inside paying for his gas, a 55-year-old San Jose man approached the car to talk to the woman — who happened to be his ex-girlfriend, Thompson said.

When the younger man returned to his car he became angry, because, as he later told police, the ex-boyfriend was bothering his girlfriend.

Some words were exchanged and the two got into a fist-fight. The fight went to the ground for a bit, then both men got back up and the 53-year-old allegedly reached into his car and pulled out a kitchen knife, brandishing the blade and telling the other man that he "didn't want any more trouble," according to Thompson.

At that point, the 53-year-old got into the car with his girlfriend and the two started to drive away, Thompson said. Before they got far, however, a window of the car shattered. The man from San Jose had thrown something at them.

The couple called 911, and both parties remained on the scene until police arrived, Thompson said.

No one was arrested, as both men said they didn't desire prosecution, Thompson said. The San Jose man said he would pay for the broken window.

Rollover accident injures four

As many as four people were hospitalized after an SUV overturned on northbound Interstate Highway 280 near Los Altos Tuesday afternoon, May 28, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The solo-vehicle accident, which resulted in major injuries, was reported at 11:52 a.m. near Magdalena Avenue, according to the CHP.

Initial reports indicated that the SUV flipped several times.

The crash prompted the CHP to issue a Sig-alert at 12:08 p.m., and the accident briefly blocked northbound lanes altogether.

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